Reflection
by Calista-Cousland
Summary: Kagome's late night invloves herself and the moon. Thoughts linger and leave her wondering, "why am I here?" As she recalls her real life's memories, she wishes someone would tell her the answer.


**Calista-Cousland: Here it is, a new short story. I had a bit of a craving to write something quick and juvinille. So here you are; enjoy.  
**

**Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha in any way. **

**o0o**

Japan.

I miss it.

I know very well that I am in the Feudal Era of Japan, but it is not the same. I wish to set foot in the house of my family, I wish to smell my mother's cooking, and I wish most of all to go out and look upon what my field of vision catches. Gaze may be a better term.

In the area in which I grew up in, I found solace in my outdoor surroundings. The Tree of Ages was something to behold, yes, but there was so much more! If you cared to venture off into the small woods near enough from my house to walk there, although you may grow tired from the long distance, and if you also cared to study the trees which inhabit said forest, you can find the secret path that I had. In my eye's as a child, the moss of the tree's sides were arrows, pointing the way to a creek. It was a rather tiny creek, for it was a rather tiny forest, but I recall finding a small cove under a rock in the clear, cold water. There laid frog eggs. As a young girl, I found that utterly fascinating, and I would visit that creek everyday after school to check on the eggs. In a way, I grew up with many baby frogs. Finding no "mommy or daddy frogs," I named each one, and I would pretend to be a teacher and they my students, although I could never tell which frog was which. I supposed I made an indecent teacher at the age of 6. Nonetheless, I was happy that I had the experience of seeing such creatures I thought to be cute.

When Mom would take me shopping with her, I was never fond of all the noise of the talking people, vendors, and the particularly loud traffic. But... If you were able to block it out, the air would seem fresher, the flowers' scent enhanced, and the colors of the sky glowing with a new resolution! People view the world in a way different from everyone else, so there is a great possibility that cupping your hands over your ears in a childlike manner would not make your world brighter, but it did for me. I viewed Japan as an exciting place with new things to discover in any second, so I always had to be on my guard! Of course, I was a giddy child back then, so maybe my state of mind at the time was influenced by my age. But I remember my strong feelings for the world back then quite well, and a clear sky seems to be as vibrant as those back when I was younger.

I had great dreams for myself when I first started middle school, I remember. Getting straights A's, being popular, having a cute boyfriend, going to college, getting married, having kids... It seemed to be so accessible to me that I tried to plan out my life from the moment I could start. But... Those dreams should be long forgotten. There is almost no way that my ambitions will come true. I knew that along the way, things would change, but I could never imagine that when my life was painted out by Fate itself that the colors would keep running out and the brushes breaking. The whole painting was ruined from the moment I fetched Buyo for Sota when that cat went near the well.

I could put the blame on many others. Sota, for being too scared to go get the cat. Buyo, for being a cat that strays away far too often. Miss Centipede, for frankly being an evil centipede demon. Naraku, for tricking Inuyasha and Kikyo, thus killing Kikyo and me being reincarnated sooner that I would have if she had not perished so young. But, it is not _truly _their fault. Really, it is no ones.' Destiny seems to have a knack for bending and twisting your entire life's course as if it was a ribbon or a string of licorice. The point being, your future can change, and it would seem that no one can alter it.

But I do not have many regrets of traveling back in time. I have been so influenced by my new found friends in the Fuedal Era. Miroku indirectly made me learn to be on my guard of those with lecherous intent; I always thought in the back of my mind that my school's skirts were a bit too short. Sango told me that trust was a bond that would break, but it was up to those who care enough to retie the strings. Shippo gave me the eyes of a child, and I have learned to see the more innocent things in nature. Even Kikyo made me believe that emotions are something you are blessed with as you live, and if you do not cherish them you might as well not live at all.

And Inuyasha taught me the most and least important thing of all: to love the little things. Like ramen. I have never seen anyone love something so normal and simple as much as he does.

Maybe someday, when I am older, I will learn to fully take these things into consideration; if I do, I just may be the most experienced person in modern-day Japan.

**o0o**

It was late at night. Perhaps Inuyasha still lurked in a tree from above, silently watching the trees rustle, but everyone else was asleep.

I had come to enjoy camping, seeing as we did so very often. But I had still not been accustomed to sleeping on the ground when thoughts of my soft bed lingered in my mind. It takes a long period of lying down to finally drift off.

Tonight we had settled on the top of a rolling hill, where down below was a small lake. With all the others in their own little world, I decided to go and make my own.

I walked slowly down the hill, my feet dug into the ground, trying to defy gravity's want to let me tumble. With the moon's reflection in the water, I felt at peace with myself. I stared into the lake and then up at the moon. Why were the two things so alike and yet so different? They looked the same, they are the same, but they don't mean the same. Just like my time and Inuyasha's, there is a line that cannot be fully crossed.

How frustrating. Why can't the world work like it does in books? Why does my fairy tale have to be so twisted?

I peered down into the water again. There was me, dark hair, dark eyes, light skin. I wish things could be different. Maybe if I had...short blonde hair. Big green eyes. Tan skin. Freckles. Would anything change?

I have come to realize that I do not belong here. Kikyo and I are one and the same. We were not meant to live in the same world. Even though she is dead, this is still not my world to be in.

But what about my friends? I couldn't just leave them here. But what if Naraku collected the jewel before us, and conquered the land? What a waste of time, a waste of life. And it would be all my fault for breaking the jewel in the first place.

I picked up a small pebble and dropped it into the water. The clear reflection of me and the moon had rippled and then begun to disappear. That was so easy; when something as little as me came into such a big world, it was distraught.

I needed to go back, to go to bed. We'd travel tomorrow like always, and I could not, would not be any more of a burden to the others. But...I couldn't seem to get up and leave.

"Hey."

My thoughts were inturrupted by a stern voice. I looked around, my eyes still, as I had memerized that voice over the years.

"Inuyasha."

He strached his head absently, as if he had just woken up. "What are you doing out here?"

I looked at my feet. "I could ask you the same thing."

He sighed. "What's with the guilty face?"

Guilty? Was that what this was? Guilt? I suppose so, I was feeling bad...

"I... I...can't believe how much trouble I have put everyone through. Breaking the jewel, scattering the shards, I have made countless mistakes along the way and I do not see why you keep my around. Kikyo is better suited, and I...don't belong here."

"No," he started. "You don't."

My heart stopped for a second. How curt, but...how true.

"But you can't leave me here. You can't just go, it doesn't work like that. You have to stay, you have no choice."

I sat down next to the lake, my feet barely touching the water.

"The what? What do I do? I can't stay, I can't leave..."

Inuyasha sat next to me, very close. "One day, you will have to leave and go back to where you belong. But that day is not today." He looked me in the eye. "For now, you stay. Here. With me."

"Inuyasha..."

I closed my eyes, and my head slowly fell lazily onto his shoulder. My eyes cracked open only a bit, the last thing I saw was our reflection in the water. The last thing I tasted was the saltiness of my recently fallen tears. The last thing I heard was Inuyasha's breath.

But the last thing I felt was someone's lips upon my head.

**o0o**

**Calista-Cousland: I truly wish to know how you liked it. Good? Bad? Care to elaberate with less vague words? Please take note of any mistakes and tell me shall you pick any up; I wish to perfect my work in any way I can. Again, please review! Even a few simple words would mean a lot to me.  
**


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